Sense of arrival

A tapestry of texture, this steep garden oozes street appeal

Full of textural contrasts, this informal front garden draws the eye and turns what seems an impossibly steep slope into a design masterpiece. "The goal was to create a garden that managed the steep slope. Nothing too formal; the owners wanted it to be a bit organic," explains garden designer Karen Staunton-Ross of Outside Living.

While the finished garden looks natural, this was quite a tricky project. "When we started, there was lawn growing on vertical faces and no opportunity for any gardens," says Karen. "This was an all-or-nothing project so we had to remove the lawn, introduce some walls and create places for plants.